Shepherdstown Historic District

About this property

The Shepherdstown Historic District comprises the historic core of Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The town is the oldest in West Virginia, founded in 1762 as Mecklenburg. No structures are known to exist from the time before the town became known as Shepherdstown. The historic district is concentrated along German Street, the main street, with 386 contributing resources and 69 non-contributing elements. The chief representative period is the late 18th century, with many Federal style brick houses. German Street is also furnished with 19th-century "street furniture" such as metal fences, mounting blocks, wooden pumps and mature trees. The town has a significant place in American history. James Rumsey made a public demonstration of a steamboat in 1787 on the nearby Potomac River. Shepherdstown was proposed as the National Capital in 1790, losing to Alexandria, Virginia, and Georgetown, Maryland, at the tidal headwaters of the Potomac. During the Civil War, Shepherdstown was in a pivotal position, with Confederate forces burning the covered bridge over the Potomac in 1861, then using nearby Pack Horse Ford to and from the Battle of Antietam. The entire town became a field hospital following this action. Later, Union troops occupied the town to preserve the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad link to the west. Baker House, a Federal style brick house with a Roman Revival porch, dating to the 1790s. It was the home of US Representative John Baker. The Great Western Hotel, owned by Jacob Entler. Originally a log structure, it was extensively modified in the early 19th century. The Presbyterian Manse, a brick Federal style or Classical Revival house, home of John Kearsley, a prominent local landowner. Trinity Episcopal Rectory, a Federal style house that was a home of John Baker, as well as US Representative Thomas Van Swearingen. The Lane House, a Federal style house once owned by Harriet Lane, niece and hostess for President James Buchanan. The Sheetz House, a Federal style house where muskets were manufactured during the American Revolutionary War. The Old Market House, the town's former market built in 1800, with stepped gable ends. A second story was added in 1845 by the Odd Fellows with a 999-year lease. The first floor has been a public library since 1922. McMurran Hall, a yellow brick Greek Revival building in the Corinthian order, which served as the Jefferson County Courthouse immediately after the American Civil War. It was later the first building used by Shepherd College. The Entler Hotel, a thirty-two room complex, which is itself on the National Register of Historic Places.

Location

Categories

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

More in Jefferson County

Historic places, battles, and census history across Jefferson County.

More historic places in West Virginia

Browse all historic places in West Virginia.

Conflict records

Explore 19,000+ military engagements across American history.

West Virginia history

Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.